NintendObs Thinks: Do we agree that BotW2 is now launching in 2023?
It's a lot more than just the Sequel to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild not showing up in this February's Nintendo Direct.
Despite all of the great reveals and announcements in this week’s Nintendo Direct, from Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes to Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and everything in between, the Sequel to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (BotW2 for short) remains Nintendo’s most anticipated title scheduled to launch this year. Actually, let’s be honest, it’s Nintendo’s most anticipated title since its prequel by itself put Nintendo Switch on the successful path it is enjoying today. If The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild was important enough to transform the outlook of Nintendo as a company, one can only imagine the weight on the shoulders of its sequel in terms of projections, and therefore how crucial the circumstances of its release truly are.
It might have come as a surprise when the game didn’t get a single mention in the first Nintendo Direct of 2022 after announcing for the first time its release window of 2022 on Nintendo Direct E3 2021 with no news ever since. Though I’m now convinced that the upcoming Zelda title will not launch this year and I’ll explain why, I do stand firm in my convinctions that it will not be due to delays in development. As a matter of fact, if it wasn’t for COVID-19, I’m positive Nintendo would have released BotW2 in 2021 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda with the exact same vigor they did the year prior for the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary campaign and then some. Yet there is another situation impacting Nintendo’s business at the moment which really is to blame for why, I believe, BotW2 will not launch as promised this year.
That’s perfectly fine however. There are still two The Legend of Zelda games ready and up for porting that could be used in the meantime to buy some time. Indeed, The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess have already been remastered in HD for the Wii U in 2013 and 2016, so their return on Nintendo Switch could easily be set up as excuses to make an official delay for BotW2 less painful to announce, actually bringing all canon console titles in The Legend of Zelda series onto Nintendo’s current system. That being said, not appearing on Nintendo Direct last Wednesday also paved the way for the game to land more acceptably such a decision in the future, hence why BotW2’s absence made it clear to me that’s exactly what’s going on behind the scenes.